Dear friends of the Abolition Institute,
 
Yesterday has a truly historic day in the centuries-old struggle to end slavery in Mauritania.
 
World renown Mauritanian anti-slavery leaders Biram Abeid and Brahim Ramdhane, both of whom have travelled and spoken in Chicago as guests of the Abolition Institute, were released from prison by the Mauritanian Supreme Court. Read the statement on this momentous event by our U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania Larry Andre, a strong champion for human rights in the region.   
 
Millions of activists across the globe sent e-mails to the Mauritanian government urging their release.  Countless news outlets covered their plight.  While Biram and Brahim were arrested and imprisoned for speaking out against slavery, their government had, at that time, never successfully prosecuted actual slaveholders.
 
I personally met with Biram and Brahim in their remote prison in Aleg, Mauritania last year.  Their perseverance, optimism and commitment to the cause was truly inspiring.  Even in these difficult circumstances, both Biram and Brahim expressed tremendous gratitude to the Abolition Institute and supporters like yourself who are fighting so hard for our shared cause.  It has always been deeply meaningful to me that Biram’s last event before receiving the prestigious United Nations Human Rights Prize at the UN General Assembly in New York was to address student activists – the future of the movement – with us in Oak Park, Illinois.
 
The broader movement against slavery won a second huge victory yesterday as well. For the first time in Mauritania’s history, a special anti-slavery court convicted and sentenced slave-owners to prison and to pay meaningful restitution to women they had enslaved.  The only previous conviction for the crime of slavery in Mauritania was in 2011, and the slave-owner never served prison time.
 
Eight more anti-slavery cases are now pending, and Judge Aliou Ba stated that the decision was meant to send a message to slaveholders that cases will now be vigorously prosecuted in the new courts.
 
Great credit is due to the lawyer for our partner organization, SOS Esclaves -- Maitre Mohameden Elid.  As a Haratine (a group that has traditionally suffered from slavery and discrimination in Mauritania), it was deeply symbolic that Maitre Elid was the first lawyer to argue – and win – a case in the new Mauritanian slavery courts.
 
Special gratitude also goes to all the members of SOS Esclaves, including founder Boubacar Messaoud, who have struggled for decades against slavery in Mauritania. SOS Esclaves helped both victims escape, assisted them in supporting their families, and organized and filed the successful cases.  Legal training and assistance was provided by Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest international human rights organization and a great partner of ours based in London.
 
I’d like to close this note with a word about the two female victims, Fatimetou Mint Hamdi and Fatimetou Mint Zaydih. They are who this movement is all about. Fatimetou and Fatimata, both in their late 30s, had lived with the Ould Daoud family since birth as their slaves.
 
They took great risks and showed great courage, escaping with their children last year with help from local SOS Esclaves activists. Fatimetou attended the public trial and spoke compellingly about what she had suffered. Mauritanian slave masters often claim, when confronted, that their slaves are really just members of their family. When the masters were denying the charges, she began shouting out: ‘That’s not true, you know what we were to you!’ For the first time in history, a Mauritanian slavery court agreed and for that we are truly thankful.
 
Sincerely,
 
Sean Tenner
Co-Founder
The Abolition Institute

By Geoffrey York at the Globe and Mail:

Boubacar Messaoud, a former slave who became one of the country’s most prominent anti-slavery campaigners, has lost track of how many times he has been arrested by the authorities for his activism – at least five or six, he says, including once when he was imprisoned for more than three months.

Jail is still used as a weapon against the anti-slavery movement. Mauritania’s most famous campaigner, Biram Dah Abeid, and one of his comrades, Brahim Bilal, are currently in the second year of a two-year prison sentence. They were arrested while leading a peaceful protest in a convoy of cars driving across a rural district. Another activist, Mr. Touré, has been arrested several times and once spent 40 days in prison.

Their organization, the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), is considered illegal, and the authorities have closed and padlocked its offices in Nouakchott, the capital city. Diagonal black lines have been painted across its walls to warn away anyone who seeks its help.
​
“We’re used to this pressure,” Mr. Touré shrugs. “It’s normal. We were a little scared in the past, but now we don’t care.”

The Honorable John F. Kerry
Secretary of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Mr. Secretary: 

We are deeply troubled by the August 20th court ruling in Mauritania upholding a two-year prison sentence for anti-slavery activists Biram dah Abeid (recipient of the 2013 UN Human Rights Prize), Brahim Bilal, and Djiby Sow. The Mauritanian government has demonstrated a complete disregard for rule of law and basic human rights by imprisoning human rights defenders for exercising their right to freedom of assembly and expression and by circumventing the judicial process for appeal.  

When arrested in November 2014, the human rights organizations that Abeid, Bilal and Sow represent were leading a peaceful sensitization “caravan” along the Senegal River – as the biggest obstacle to the struggle against slavery in Mauritania is the lack of awareness about the problem. On January 15, 2015, the Mauritanian government sentenced Abeid, Bilal and Sow to two years imprisonment for inciting rebellion and membership in an ‘illegal’ organization. In an attempt to diffuse popular support for the prisoners and make it difficult for their family and lawyers to visit, within 24 hours of being sentenced, all three were arbitrarily moved to the remote location of Aleg. In light of these events, we urge you to publicly condemn this injustice; encourage the government of Mauritania to enforce its anti-slavery laws; and seriously reconsider Mauritania’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). 

Freedom House has documented Mauritania’s deteriorating human rights record in its annual Freedom in the Worldreport. In 2009, Mauritania was downgraded from ‘Partly Free’ to ‘Not Free’ status, due to the military’s ouster of the democratically elected president. Under President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, political power is highly centralized in the hands of the executive and the scale of slavery has not diminished. According to the Global Slavery Index, Mauritania has the highest prevalence of modern slavery in the world at an estimated 4% of the population - although many local human rights organizations put the number close to 20%. 

Abeid’s organization, the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), among others, have been instrumental in raising the issue of slavery to the forefront, exposing abuses and mobilizing Mauritanian citizens to demand basic rights. Since the November arrests, the organization’s resources have been funneled into legal proceedings and drawn away from their ultimate mission to eliminate slavery in Mauritania. 

​We urge the United States to publically condemn the decision by the appeal court in Aleg against Abeid, Bilal and Sow. The United States provides over $40 million in security assistance to Mauritania. This aid offers a significant amount of leverage to engage the Mauritanian government on issues of human rights. Also, as you made clear in your remarks at the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism earlier this year, civil society groups and human rights defenders like Abeid, Bilal and Sow are essential in the struggle against violent extremism as they promote social and political inclusion, diminishing the appeal of extremist groups.

The United States should press the government of Mauritania to enforce its anti-slavery laws.  We welcomed the enactment of tougher laws against slavery earlier this month, especially provisions which allow non-profit organizations to file complaints on the behalf of victims; however, the Mauritanian government’s commitment to implement these laws is in doubt. Since Mauritania criminalized slavery in 2007, the government has not provided adequate resources for the special tribunal dedicated to slavery prosecutions - as noted in the recent report issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery - and only one perpetrator has been brought to justice. Weakening local human rights organizations will make the enforcement of anti-slavery laws even less likely. 

Finally, the United States should reconsider Mauritania’s AGOA eligibility on human rights grounds. During the upcoming AGOA eligibility review of Mauritania, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative should consult with Mauritanian human rights organizations regarding the restrictions on political rights and civil liberties as well as the trend lines in the incidence of slavery that exist in the country. 

​As one of Mauritania’s closest allies and key partner in the fight against terrorism, the United States is in a strong position to encourage President Aziz’s government to stop persecuting anti-slavery activists and live up to its own commitments to end slavery. These efforts would help make Mauritania more pluralistic and resilient and decrease terrorism and instability.
Sincerely, 
 
Mark P. Lagon 
President, Freedom House 
Co-Signers: 
The Abolition Institute
Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture 
Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l’Homme (AEDH)
Anti-Slavery International 
Article 19
Association des Femmes Chefs de Famille
Free the Slaves 
Human Rights First 
IRA – Mauritanie
IRA – USA 
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
SOS-Esclaves
Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization (UNPO)
Vivere

By Katherine Purvis at the Guardian:

By Romanucci & Blandin at R&B Law:

he U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved $5 million in funding to address slavery in the West African nation of Mauritania, ranked by the Global Slavery Index as the nation with the highest percentage of its own people enslaved.  This follows last year’s historic appropriation of $3 million for anti-slavery programs in the region.

It is estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of Mauritania’s 3.89 million citizens are enslaved and face horrific, inhumane conditions.  A 2012 CNN special report, “Slavery’s Last Stronghold” shared the Mauritanian slaves’ plight with the world and spurred a group of activists to form The Abolition Institute.

The Chicago-based nonprofit is building on Illinois’ long history as a hub for anti-slavery movements and working with lawyers and human rights advocates to end the practice of slavery in Mauritania. Area Chicago attorneys, including Romanucci & Blandin partner Stephan Blandin, have volunteered their services to the Institute to aid in this effort.
​
“This grant and the Committee’s approval of $25 million for a new initiative to end modern slavery globally solidifies the message that policy makers are making a long term investment in addressing slavery in Mauritania and wherever this abhorrent situation exists,” said Blandin.

By Amnesty International:

The harsh sentence upheld this evening against a prominent anti-slavery activist is a clear indication that Mauritania has no intention of letting up on its crackdown on human rights defenders, Amnesty International said today.
​
An appeal court in the south-western town of Aleg has confirmed the two year sentence after convicting former presidential candidate Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, Brahim Bilal and Djiby Sow of membership in an unrecognized organization, taking part in an unauthorized assembly, failing to comply with police orders and resisting arrest.

ZeeNews:

​More than 100 members of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement in Mauritania (IRA) protested in the capital for the release of the organisation`s leader and another employee, the NGO`s spokesman, Hammady Ould Lehbouss, told AFP.

"Twenty-three of the protesters were arrested and six were injured during clashes with police, who were using batons and large amounts of tear gas," he said.

"We wanted to organise a peaceful march. The police attacked us, and violent clashes followed," he added.
The police did not respond to the claim when contacted by AFP for comment.

The leader of the IRA is Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, who was a candidate for the country`s presidency in June 2014, running against incumbent Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

Ould Abeid was arrested in January along with two other anti-slavery activists, one of whom was a member of the IRA, and sentenced to two years in prison for "belonging to a non-authorised organisation, protesting, and incitement to rebellion."

The third activist, Djiby Sow, is president of the cultural and civic association Kawtal Ngam Yellitaare, and was recently released on bail for health reasons.
​
The two jailed members of the IRA are currently appealing their sentences, which the organisation has repeatedly denounced as wrongful imprisonment. The IRA has organised a number of protests since their arrests, which have often been dispersed by authorities.

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization:

Despite its whole Directorate being behind bars, the IRA-Mauritania activists remain as watchful and concentrated on their main objective: the denunciation of slavery and of the injustice they face.

The Rkiz (District located 200 km south-west of Rosso, the regional capital of Trarza) section has discovered a case of slavery on Friday 3 July 2015 in Lgana, a camp situated 6 km away from Rkiz. The victim, Tislim mint Moulid, is about sixty years old, mute and physically disabled. Her master, Abdallahi ould Tghana, is a rich and prominent citizen from the Rhahle tribe, and holds a big herd of which the victim, Tislim mint Moulid, was in charge.
​
The people responsible for the Rkiz section have filed a complaint to the Rkiz police brigade. The commander of this brigade went to the camp and arrested the master, Abdallahi ould Tghana, as the procedure stipulates. But what remains incomprehensible is the arrest of the victim, Tislim mint Moulid, despite the protests of activists who wished to take care of her. The police has opened an inquiry and promised to lead the detainee before the prosecutor at the beginning of the following week.